Julia Żmuda

     Social media activism is a term for activism that uses social media platforms to provide awereness, information and education about social or political movements. Although critics debate whether it is an effective form of engagement, it is udeniably one of the most accessible forms of social or political participation. Since it doesn’t require in person involvement much more people can get included. In 2011 activists across North Africa and the Middle East involved in the „Arab Spring” decided to spread awereness about oppressive regimes and low standards of living they were experiencing. They shared information, photos and videos on social media sites where they gained millions of views and brought the issues into the global discussion. Other movements that caught hold in global conversation due to their presence in social media are: Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, #MeToo, #LoveWins.   source: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/a-guide-to-social-medi...

       Millions of people experience online identity theft every year. Mostly it comes from the lack of knowledge on how to protect your identity or the lack of awareness of the danger that is connected with social media sites. Personalized, targeted advertisements on social media sites  are all based on personal information people give out to the platforms when signing up. These platforms are highly at risk of cyber attacks which puts you out to identity theft. Many people not realize how much important information they carelessly hand out to social media sites and potentially to a criminal that will use it against you. It has become so usual and normal to us to provide personal data like our full name, date of birth, relationship status, interest or home town on our profiles that we forgot to notice how dangerous it can be. It is important to know how to properly use social media when there is our privacy and security at stake.   source: https://www.e...

       Social media has become one of the main factors that influences people to buy. With more that 3 billion social media users who usually have several social media accounts it is no secret that brands all over the world will try to take advantage of that. There are several tactics which trick us to buying more. For example, hiring a well-known influencer to advertise a new product can provide almost immediate rise in sales of a brand. Another, similar thing is that when we see someone else spending money – no matter if it’s someone we know or not - we feel the need to do that too. Moreover, social media collects insane amount of personal data about people which allows companies to choose most relevant ads for every social media user. That paired with the fact that nowadays we can purchase something with just a few clicks creates a perfect way to make people buy more. Chasing the unrealistic version of life, poor mental health and wanting to impress others are als...

     FOMO (Fear of missing out) is the anxiety we feel when we’re missing out on rewarding experiences that others are having. Everyone can experience FOMO. However, people who are very present on social media experience it more than people who do not use it as often. Constatly seeing the perfect life everyone on social media apparently has makes us compare ourselves to them. We start thinking our reality is worse than theirs, that we’re doing something wrong. We become aware of what we’re missing out on. As social beings we desire group interaction so when we see our friends or even strangers having fun without us it makes us feel lonely. It makes us stay up to date with everything that is going on due to the fear of not being involved. FOMO can lead to excessive dissatisfaction with one’s life, anxiety, stress, mood swings or even depression. sources: https://emeraldpsychiatry.com/is-there-a-connection-between-social-media-fomo-and-depression/ https://onemindpsyberguide...